• Korean journal of applied entomology
• /
• v.44 no.1 s.138
• /
• pp.21-30
• /
• 2005

Feeding behavior of foraging ants including visiting numbers, species, and preference on insect cadavers killed by entomopathogenic nematodes <(Heterorhabditis sp. KCTC 0991BP (He) and Steinernema carpocapsae KCTC 0981BP (Sc)> and their symbiotic bacteria was investigated in Dongrae Benest Golf Club, Anyang Benest Golf Club, Gapyung Benest Golf Club and Ulsan Golf Club. The number of ants, kinds and numbers of cadavers taken away by ants were different depending on killing method, golf club and site within the golf courses (fairway and rough). The feeding preference of ants was the lowest on cadavers killed by He. At Dongrae Benest Golf Club Lasius japonicu ($75{\pm}5\%$) and Monomorium floricola ($10\%$) took away cadavers only at the rough. The visiting rate of ants was $85{\pm}6\%$ at the rough, but none at the fairway by 16 hours. The taken rate of cadavers by ants was the lowest on He-killed cadavers representing $16.7\%$ compared with $40.0\%$ on Sc-killed cadavers, $53.3\%$ on fenitrithion-killed cadavers, and $56.7\%$ on natural dead cadavers by 12 hours. At the rough of hole 6 in Anyang Benest Golf Club, Tetramorium tsushimae ($33{\pm}12\%$), Pheidole fervida ($17{\pm}15\%$), Camponatus japonicus ($10\%$), Formica japonica ($7{\pm}6\%$), Paratrechina flavipes ($3{\pm}6\%$), and Crematogaster matsumurai ($3{\pm}6\%$) took away cadavers, but $23{\pm}15\%$ of cadavers were not visited by ants. Ants took away $40\%$ of Sc-killed cadavers, $16.7\%$ of frozen-killed cadavers, and $3.4\%$ of He-killed cadavers. The number of visiting ants was low at the hole 9 of Cherry course in Gapyung Benest Golf Club and only Tetramorium tsuhimae and Paratrechina flavipes were found from one site. The density of entomopathogenic nematodes did not influence ant visiting on cadavers, but burying affected ant visiting. Although ants took away unburied cadavers, buried cadavers were taken away at the hole 6 of Dongrae Benest Golf Club by 16 hours. Ant visiting had the same tendency on symbiotic bacterium-treated biscuit as nematode-killed cadavers. The visiting was less on biscuit inoculated by Photorhabdus sp., a symbiotic bacterium of He than on biscuit inoculated by Xenorhabdus nematophila, a symbiotic bacterium of Sc.